Speed-regulating device for vehicles



J. C. RADOVICH. SPEED REGULATING DEVICE Fo VEHICLES.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE l2. 1920.

`Patented Mar. 21, 1922.

wdwwllluw.

39 IIIII` II III I vf III nwdb sof

UNITED STA ras PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN o. nanovron; or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

SPEED-REGULATING DEVICE FOR VEHICLES.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mal. 21, 1922.

Application filed June 2. 1929. Serial No. 385,924.

may he automatically set and whichA when so will prevent the vehicle to which it is attached -from exceeding` a pre-determined rate ou, travel. l t

ln practicing the invention l provide means 'which may he attached to the countershai't oil the transmission or may he geared to same, and which ,means operates a trip when a predeterminedspeed is exceedec. lili tor instance the law was such that the speed on. all county roads should not'err'eed thirty-five miles per hourq the device or means is provided with adjusting nuts that will so regulate same asto shut orf the fluid supply used in energizing the prime mover of the vehicle. llt would oc necessary after this happened for the vehicle tocome to a stop, at which time the device or means would restore the fluid supply means to a normal condition and allow the vehicle to The device isV also provided with a casing which may he so locked by state officials or the police eta city, so that tampering with the internal mechanism would he impossible after the adjustments essential to or stipuagain be operated at any speed between one mile per hour and thirty-five miles per hour.

lated hv city ordinance had been complied with.

The invention has for further objects the .provision o'li an improved device 'tor regulatino` the speed of a vehicle, which will he superior-'in point ot relative simplicity and inexponsiveness, taken in conjunction with utility, din-ability and general eliiciency and viceability.

lVith the above and other objects in view, the invention consists in the novel and useful provision`V formation, construction, comliina'tioni lissociation and inter-relation ot parts, nien hers and features, all as disclosed in the accompanying drawing, and described in the followingspecification, and finally pointed out in claims. i

'ln the drawing: y y

`lligure l is a fragmentary side elevation ot a transmission casing and transmission shaft and showingan improved device tor regulating the speed of vehicles attached to the transmissionV shaft;

Figure 2 is afragmentary cross sectional view of the speed regulating device shown in position in Figure l, and taken on the line .r2- m2, Figure l, looking in the direction of the appended arrows;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of the device shown in Figure 2 and taken on the line 3- m3, FigureQ, looking in the direction of the appended arrows;

` Figure 4l is a fragmentary end elevation of a trip arrangement used in connection with the device, and taken on the line fc4" m4, Figure 2, looking in' the direction of the appended arrows; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary front and side elevation of bearing means used `in connection with the trip arrangement and looking in thel direction Ot' the arrow 005 Figure 2.

Corresponding parts in all the figures are designated by the same reference characters.

Referring with particularity to the drawing, AV designates the transmission or the gear box which contains speed change gears B a transmission jack shaft, and C a device for regulating the speed of a vehicle D which is associated with'the transmissioncasing A and the transmission jack shaft B, and E an engine or prime mover-al1 of .which elements are usedin practicing one embodiment of the invention.

The speed regulating device C includes a casing l i rovided'with a hub portion 2.' The jack Sliaft B extends through the casing and through the hulo 2, as shown at 3. A portion of the hub, as 4, is channeled and, threaded as at 5. `A packing gland or dust rino` 6 is placed in said channeled portion" anda cap nut l7 is screwed upon the threaded portion 5 and bears against the gland v6. The. end portion as at 8 of the jack shaft B is arranged to accommodate a universal joint, not shown7 which joint also connects with a propeller shaft, notshown. Thecasing C may loe attached to the transmission casing A as by means of bolts and nuts 9. The casing is also provided with a plurality of perforations l0 having insulation means 10a therein. Therpurpose Vof the perfora tions .10 will be described later.

Contained within the casing C is a mechanism used for regulating the speed of a vehicle, which mechanism comprises in the main a particular form of governor a. The governor u includes a disc 11 provided with a hub .portion 12 and the disc is keyed to the jack shaft `B asl at13 so, that the disc may turn with the shaft. An end portion of the disc as at 14is inclined for a space and which incline extends as far as the perimeter of the disc 11. As the inclined portion 14 nears the shaft Bthere Yis a slight jog inwardly as at 14a, and. then a further incline 14bwvhich corresponds to the incline 14. A portion as 15 which is straight or vertical, joins with the incline portion 14?) and extends as far as the periphery of the jack shaft B The hub portion of the disc 11 is provided with an annular groove 16, which groove 16 has one of its side faces as 17 inclined. A wheel 18 is placed adjacent the inclined portion of the disc 11, which wheel 18 is provided with spoke members. A hub 19 et the wheel 18 is keyed to thejack shaft B as at 20, so that the wheel may turn with the jack shaft B and in addition be held in the same position at all times. t and 22`are integrally formed with a rim 23 of the wheel 18 and with the hub 19, both of said spokes 21 and 22 being in opposed relationl for counterbalancingr effect. The

wheel 18 is likewise provided with two other spoke members 24 and 25 also arranged in opposed relation kand substantially at right angles to the spoke members 21 and 22. The spokes 24 and 25 may be termed the workcarrying members, for mounted upon said spokes are shoes 26 and 27. The rim 23 of the wheel 18 is`provided with threaded perforations 28 and 29, which per-felations are directly over the outer ends of the spokes 24 and 25. Threaded nuts 30 and 31 are screwed within the'perforations 28 and 29.

Each of the nuts Stil-and 81 is internally recessed as at 32 and 33, respectively, so that when the nutsfBO and 31 are revolved they" may vaccommodate in their recessed portions the end or end portions of the spokes 24- and 25- respectively. The rim 23 is like-V wise provided with transverse threaded perforations 33 Vand 84 which communicate with the threaded pertorations 28 and 29, and screw means 85 and V86 turn within said perforations and abut against the outer surface of the nuts and 313t0 prevent their being turned.V vUpon the spokes' 24 and 251 are placed, ashas been described, the shoe members 26 and 27. The shoe members 26 and 27 comprise blocks provided each with an inclined facey87 and 38 respectively., and which inclined faces' 37 and 38 are inclined complementarily with the inclined face 14 of the disc 11. lTo prevent the blocks from Certain of the spokes as 21 Y Vsaid ear 67.

turning or twisting', guide rods 89 and 4() are provided. The guide rods are accommodated within nerferations 41 and 42 located inthe rim 18. A portion of the perforations is threaded to accommodate 70 screws 43 and 441for retaining the rods in position. The lower portions of the guide rods are accommodated within perforations 45 and 46 ,of the hub member 19. Yielding means 46 and 47 comprisingin the main helical springs, surround the spokes 24 and 25, one for each spoke. The'yielding means 46 and 47 are placed between the end members 80 and 31 and the shoes 26 and 27.

rlie disc 11 is provided with 'an enlarged channel portion 48 located in the hub por, tion 12. An annular ring member Z) is keyed as at 49 to the jack shaft B and an end portion of the ring member o abuts against a surface portion 50 ofthe inner surfaceof the casing C. t As the ring mem-V ber o turns with the jack shaft B and A,the casing- C remains stationary, thrust bearings 51 act between the two surfaces to render friction negligible. The ring Z) is recessed as :tt-52. Surrounding the jack shaft B is a helical spring member or yielding means 53, and which yielding means is accommodated within the recessed Vportion 48 of the disc 11 and the recessed portion 52 of the ring b. AThe function of the yielding means 53 is to force the disc 11 so that one or the other ofthe inclined faces as 14 and 14b will engage with the inclined faces of the shoe members 26 and 27. An L-shaped bracket member or supporting means c is detachably held by means of screws 54 to a portion of the inner surface of the casing' C. as at 55. An end 56 of the bracket is provided with a bearing 57 and p ivotally 105 mounted thereon is an arm or lever 58. The arm or lever 58 is provided with a channeled portion 59 and within the channeled portion and slidably retained therein is a member 60. In Figure 4 the channeled portion 59 110 is shown as V-shaped, vwhile the member 60 is correspondingly Vd so that it may be retained within the channeled portion 59; however, I do not wish to limit myself to this particular construction, as any other 115 method of retaining'` the member 60 with relation to the lever would be satisfactory.

The member 60 is provided with an angruA :larly-directed and outstanding head 6l,

which head has an inclined face 62 pro- 120 videdwith a bearing` 63. The opposite end ofthe member 60 is AU-shaped, as at 64, the free end of which, as 65, is close to .a surface 66 of the lever 58, for reasons to be described. The lever 58 is provided witha 125 lug` or ear and a catch or trip1means or lever 68 is pivotallyr'attached as atl 69 to An end as'70 of the lever 68 is angularly directed, and which angularly directed end cooperates with an upstanding 13o mea-ns 80. The yielding means 80 normally urges the member 60 upwardly, and to limit Y the upward movement of the member 60 a pin. 91 is placed in the lever 58 as at 82 An upper end portion 88 or" the lever 58 normally closes an electrical circuit associated with the magneto and the spark plugs, by engaging two spacedly arranged electrical contact points Sel and 85.' Electrical conductors 96 and 87 pass from said contact pointsS/l and 85 respectively through c ertain of the perforations 10 to the magneto and spark plugs. The insulation 10a in each ot the perforationslO serves to prevent any short-circuiting by causingJ a leali through the casing C. Y

There may also Vbe provided within the casing; C a means for shutting' oil the gasa line supply. To accomplish this a wafer spring; 88 is lfastened near one end as at 89 to a portion oic 'the casing` member 11 should move as shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2, it would engage an end as 90 ol the water 88 and cause it to contact with the'contact points 91 and 92. Electrical conductors 93 and 9e4 connect with the Contact points 91 and 92 and pass through certain of the insulated perforations 10. The electrical conductor 93, is associated with an electrical magnet 95 and from thence to energy supply means, such as batteries 96, and 'from 'a pole oi said batteries back through the electrical conductor 94. lli the water S8 should contact with'the two contact points 91 and 92 at the same time, the electrical magnet 95 would be energized and when so energized it would draw a lever locking` hook 97 toward said magnet. The lever locking` hook is pivotally mounted upon a bracket 99, which bracket isiu turn mounted upon a portion oi" an intake manifold 99. il hook portion 100 oll the lever hoolt cooperates with a hook portion 101 ot a hook latch 102 nivotally mounted on the intake manifold 99. vllithin the intake manifold is av butteriiy valve 103, which is shown in dotted lines, which butterfly valve 103 cooperates with the hoolr latch 102 and will (turn within the manifold when the hook latch 102 revolves. Yieliiing means 104i is connected as at 105 to a portion o't the hook latch 102 and the other end to some portion oi' the intake manifold r'hus when the electrical magneto 95 is energized an end 106 which 1s C and itt the discV provided with an iron cap or similar metal which is attracted by magnetism, will be drawn toward the electric magnet 95 allowing the hook 100 and the latch 101 to sep arate, whereupon the yielding means 101i will draw the hook latch downwardly revolving the butterfly valve 103 within the intake manifold 99, so that the gasoline sup ply is shut oiii.

Another method of shutting off the vgaso line supply is shown by the dotted lines in Figure 2, which method dispenses with the water spring` 88 and possibly i would bc more satisfactory as the water spring; might vibrate. Referring to Figure 2 and to the dotted lines which illustrate electrical conductors as Q and fr, it will be seen that the electrical conductor r is grounded to the casing; C andjoins with the electrical conductor 9.4 as at s on one side of the energy supply means 96. The other electrical conduc` sion A the jack shaft B will commence `to turn and when this occurs each of the shoes 26 and 27 will tend to be thrown outwardly by centrifugal 'force and the inclined faces 87 and 38 of the shoes will commence to creep upward the inclined tace 14.- of the dish 11, but they are retarded in their action by the yielding means Li6 and 417. Tlfius the faster thejack shaft B revolves the further outwardly will be forced the shoes 26 and 27 in accordance with the wellknown laws of physics. This outwardmovement of the shoes will tend to 'force the disc along,` the jack shaft B and this action will be opposed by the yielding means 53. 1f we suppose that the governor a has been so regir lated and the caps and 31 turned so that the yielding means i6 and 17 oppose movement of the shoes 26 and 27, up to a certain speed, along` the inclined face 14 of the disc 11, further movement will allow the inclined head 61 to contact with the inclined face 17 oit the annular groove 16 located in the hub 12 yoi" the'disc- 11.- ln reality the ball bearing 63 located in the inclined tace 61 will contact with the inclined side 17, and the more the disc 11 moves, as shown by the dotted lines, the further down will the member G0 be drawn because of the inclined side 17. The U-shaped end 64 will of course move with the member and pull downwardly upon an end 107 confined within the same.

li the member .60 moves doT-vnwardly a suriicient distance the end 70 of the lever 68 will trip from the end T3 ot the rod Ill, and when this occurs the lever 58 will he thrown quickly from the conta-ct points @Il andV 85, une to the spring' TG. lt is necessary that the movement or the lever arm away `from the Contact points 84 and 85 should he as quick as possible, so that no arcing will occur. rihis et course hreal-rs the circuit ot the manjneto andspark plugs and the engine will` infimediatelystop running. is soon as the speed oit the vehicle diminishes the jack shatt B will not revolve as rapidly, and consequently the centrifugal force will diminish and the slices 26 and 27 will tend to move `toward the huh 19 Vloecause of the springl action downwardly upon same, and in addition the *yielding means will tend to' force. the disc 11 again inwardly. lThe disc 11 is so constructed that as the shoes 2G and 27 move downwardly upon the carriers @si and the inclined Vtacos of the shoes will at all timos press over against the inclined tace 11i; of the disc or the inclined face 1lb.

lt will he noted that the jog 1411 dividing the two inclined 'fares 11i and 14!J 'angrcd so that when each of the shoes have moved downwardly a suhcient distance the shoes will each drop suddenly into or'upon the inclined portionll-l-b because ot the spring action of the means 53. This ot course gives the disc a kickinpf7 action, and when this occurs a side 108 of the annular groove 16 is caused to contact with a face 109 of the lever 58, thus causing` the port-ion @il ot the lever 58 to aggainmake Contact with the conn tact points Se and 85. rllhe end 73 of the rod 71 being inclined will allow the angularly disposed end of the lever 68 to slide upwardly and hook over the end of the rod 71. Hence the device is seltrestoring, but 1t Vwill he observed that it will he necessary normally to stop the vehicle in its forward travel hetore the-governor will again set itself.

lt might not always loe possible to associate the governor a upon the jackl shaft B, and thus a train of gears might he interposed between the jack shaft B and an independent counter-shaft provided with a gear within the casing C and upon which the governor elements would he mounted. ln some seit-propelled vehicles the transmission is located on the rear axle and it would he i'iecessary to locate the governor fr so that it could regulate the turning move` ment Vot the axle where the jack shatt of the transmission joins the differential. In other words, it is at all times necessary that the governor o he so placed in relation to the driven parts of the vehicle that racing1 thc engine would not atleet the same. The inventor is aware that there is a device onV the market which is associated with .the

prime mover or the engine for preventing a driver from leaving the vehicle standing with the engine runningor from racing the engine, and which device automatically sauts off the fluid supply after the vehicle has stood a certain lengthof time. How`- ever, the device now on the market principally regulates and shows` the amount of gasoline used and is for the purposeotpre- Y venting` the drivers from riding, etc. However, the present invention is intended to prevent speeding` of a vehicle beyond cer tainl denite limits, as `provided hy4 law. Thus the governor a must beso associated with the vehicle as to not he all'ected by a racing or the engine, such as whenthe gears are shifted into low,v but rather tobe so associated with the vehicle as `to regulate the translational speed of same.

lt will he understood ot course that the 2governor is in reality `one form` of speedometer. By placing a dial with a pointer playing` over same it would be possible to utilizethis instrument so ythat it would reg ister speeds of vehicle travel and at the same time act in the capacity as stated. In fact, this particular 'form ot Lgovernor and the :functions it is intended to perform may he associated with the flexible shaft of the ordinary speedometer used on the instrument hoard ot a self-propelled vehicle. The inventor does not wish to confine his Vinvention so that it would-always have to he plared upon the jack shattot the transmission, but wishes it to he understood that a deviceof this character'may he placed an where upon a vehicle, as long as it cooperates with moving parts .which are directly .tired by the rate of travel of a vehicle, and, Vnot the rate of travel of any of the propulsive elements such as the motor. It will be obvious that it a device of this character were coupled to the engine shaft, when the gearing' was shifted in say, first position, the engine would race while the vehicle would slowly creep along. The moment the 'racing' of the engine occurred this device would shut off the source ot energy supply. Theinventor makes these statements as he wishes to he understood as supplying-,a device to regulate the forward and backward speed ot any vehicle to whichit is attached. ln place of' using the water spring S8, as has been described, when the lever 83 breaks contact with the contact points 84e and 85 and. assumes the dotted line position shown in Figure 2, the lever 83 will contact with a head t1. As the lever 873 is grounded through the bracket c to the casing C, an electrical path will he set up through the conductors g and r, and when such electrical path is set up the trip elements such as 97 and 102 will be operated and the buttervalve 103 closed-in the manifold. Qt course the electrical conductor g would have nation/le to connect with lthe conductor 93 at some such point as u, in order to take advantage of' an electrical path through the batteries.

and the showing of the accompanying draw-y ing, in adapting the invention to varying conditions and requirements of use and service, Without departing from the true spirit ot the invention.

Having thus disclosed my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

l. In combination with means tor operating` a vehicle oit means adapted to Operate responsive to changes in speed of the vehicle to render said operating means inoperative; said second named means including a governor and means actuated thereby to render said operating means inoperative; said lgovernor including a disc provided with a hub formed with an annular groove therein, a face of which is inclined; and means actua-ted thereby including a pivoted lever and a member slidably mounted thereon; a trip associated with said member and adapted to operate responsive to movement ot said member.

2. In combination With means for operating a vehicle of means adapted to operate responsive to changes in speed of the vehicle to render said Operating means inoperative; said second named means including a governor and means actuated thereby to render said operating means inoperative; said governor including a disc formed with an inclined tace, a shaft upon Which said disc is. concentrically mounted for rotatio-n with and co-axial movement thereon, and a shoe having an inclined face for cooperation with the inclined tace of the disc to limit the co-aXial movement of the same; said disc being` provided with a hub formed with an annular groove, a face of which is inclined; and means actuated thereby including a pivoted lever and a member slidably mounted thereon; a trip associated with said member and adapted to operate responsive to movement of said member.

3. In combination with means for operating a vehicle of means adapted to operate responsive to changes in -speed of the vehicle to render said operating means inoperative; said second named means including a governor and means actuated. thereby to render said operating means inoperative; said disc being provided With a hub formed with an annular groove, a tace of Which is inclined; and means actuated. thereby including a pivot-ed lever, and a member slidably mounted thereon; a trip associated with said member and adapted to operate responA sive to movement of said member; said member being provided with an enlarwed head; a Jtace ci which is inclined, and said inclined vtace cooperating With the inclined tace of the annular groove at certain speeds of the vehicle to move the same and operate the trip, thus rendering the means for operating the vehicle inoperative.

4. In combination with means for operating a vehicle, of means adapted to operate responsive to changes in speed of the vehicle to render said first means inoperative when a pre-determined vehicle speed is exceeded; said first means remaining inoperative until the vehicle has approximately stopped movement, whereupon said second means automatically restores said first means to normal condition preparatory for further operation of the vehicle.

5. In combination with ignition means of an internal combustion engine for operating a vehicle, of means adapted to operate responsive to changes in speed of the vehicle to render said ignition means inoperative when a pre-determined vehicle speed is eX- ceeded; said ignition means remaining inoperative until the vehicle has approximately stopped movement, Whereupon said second namedmeans automatically restores said ignition means to normal condition preparatory for further operation of the vehicle.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

JOHN C. RADOVIGH. Witnesses:

EDNA TURNER, J. CALVIN BRowN. 

